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Trail Days 2007 Logistics

Hola,

Was wondering if anyone might do me a favour and help me out a bit with some info on Trail Days.
Plan on driving down for the weekend from Canada. I have found a couple web sites with good
info, but lacking in a few of the specifics.

Have a couple of questions:
- what do I need to do to hammock there?
- Who do I call, do you have to reserve? site fees etc.
- where does one stay exactly?
- should I plan to cook all my own meals or are there vendors or
food tents?
- oh ya, and does anyone have a local area map? Just need basic
directions from a major highway.

If someone could post, or PM me that would be most appreciated.
Need to book my vacation time soon for it.

Dig around and find the link to the site map. On there will be maps and such. Hammocking can be done where everyone else camps at south end of town. If memory serves me well from last year, there are no reservations needed, but you may want to consider getting there early as the best hanging and camping places fill fast. There's plenty of food for sale in town or you can find something generally you can get in on in the camping area. Bringing your own and such is always a good thing as always. Oh and there are two Outfitters in town so if you forget something besides the vendor area you can scope the outfitters out.

Just so you can find it a little better (you can do a yahoo map search on Damascus, VA) South I-81 until you get to VA 58 near Abingdon. Head east about 8 to 10 miles to Damascus. As you get into town you will see the vendor area and going farther east in town you should see signs of where to go for the campgrounds. PM me if you need more info. I'll most likely be looking for a ride back there from farther north as I'll pass Damascus hopefully around the first of May going NOBO.

i've been to trail days the last two years. it's really neat to see a lot of the gear, including the cottage gear & it's makers, in person.
year before last, me & a friend just drove back out of town (in the direction of greyson highlands state park) & found an empty camp site along the road.
we had seen several on the way in. no charge.
last year i went by myself. i just parked in town & walked over to where the action was to spend the rest of the day talking to ed speer, the jacks, & so on.
the AT goes right through trail days so later in the day i followed the AT up the hill side as it left the vendor's area & went into the woods.
there was so much poison ivy that i had a time finding a good place to hang the hammock, but instead of continuing farther & farther up the mountain side looking, i choose a spot on a really steep hill, just a short ways up the trail.
i could still hear the live music from trail days in my hammock.
only problem was, i got sick as a dog from food i bought from one of the vendors.
you may see a food vendor selling chicken, beef, or alligator. i got the chicken... along w/ serious case of food poison!
i don't know when i've ever been so sick in all my life.
being on that steep hill side didn't help because it was throwing-up & diarrhea from 2am until after day light.
rough night in the hammock. i was barely able to drag me & my stuff back down to the truck. fortuneatly i had moved the truck to a parking lot just below the evening before.
long story short... eat from that vendor at your own risk. ed speer said he didn't realize i was eating from there or he would have warned me. he got food poison two years before from the same people.
back to a place for hammocking... if you don't mind the party scene, you can probably find a place to hang at tent city.
hope to get to see several of my fellow hammockers there. ...tim

i've been told quite a few times that i must have a cast iron stomach, & i think that's the only time i've ever had food poison, but i guess that chicken had just been laying around way to long<G>.
but trail days is great. there were four hammock providers there last year that i can remember...
speer, HH, eagle's nest, & of course JRB.
MAN... i'm looking forward to seeing that new hammock!!!

Turk, there is a fee ($15, I think) for parking / camping for the weekend and you just go into a large area - mostly open but some wooded (and excellent for hammocks from what I saw). They have port-a-potties in various areas and a main restroom with showers.

As for food, there are several local restaurants and food vendors in the town, but none in the camping area. We cooked most of our meals, but could have easily bought them. The web site will show some special breakfasts and some trail angels do feeds in the campground area.

Does everyone basically setup in one spot and leave everything there for the duration?

I am thinking yes, but I hear a lot of conflictling stuff. Mainly from the WB crowd. I was thinking that I would setup and just take my money, camera, cell, and pocketmail with me. The only things of any real value with me. Well minus all the hiking gear.

Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".